Downtown Los Angeles

Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, as well as a diverse residential neighborhood of 58,000 people. The district was settled by the Spanish in 1781, and the city would rapidly expand around Downtown. During the early part of the 20th century, banking institutions clustered around South Spring Street, forming "the Wall Street of the West". Commercial growth brought with it hotel construction, and Broadway became the nightlife, shopping, and entertainment district of the city. Department stores such as May Company, JW Robinson's, and Bullock's opened flagship stores downtown. The suburbanization that followed World War II, the development of Los Angeles' freeway network, and increased automobile ownership led to decreased investment downtown. The once-wealthy Bunker Hill neighborhood became a haven for low-income renters, its Victorian mansions turned into flophouses. By the 1990s, the area had been revitalized after much slum clearance and projects that leveled homes in order to prop up future commercial skyscraper development. By mid-2013, Downtown had an increasingly fashionable and wealthy residential population, and outmoded, vacant office and commercial buildings were converted into renovated lofts and luxury apartment and condo complexes.